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1/8/08

Individual Breakfast Pizzas

I've never been much of a cold cereal eater and although two of my children were when they were small, one had given up breakfast altogether by the time she was 6 and my other daughter tends to feel ill if she eats something 'cold' or 'too sweet' in the morning, which includes cereal and those sugar-and-corn-syrup laden so called granola bars, and my son? He either doesn't want anything or opts for something hot as well like a bagel or a breakfast scramble that you quickly pop in the toaster.

When I saw this recipe from the King Arthur company it sounded so hot and delicious I knew it was one I wanted to add to my collection. I don't use their dough recipe, as I really love my own dough recipe, but I'll keep it here as it's part of their complete recipe.


Dough

1 3/4 cups (7 1/4 ounces) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour*
1 1/4 cups (7 1/4 ounces) semolina*
2 tablespoons (1/2 ounce) King Arthur Easy-Roll Dough Improver (optional, but helpful)
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon (1/4 ounce) Pizza Dough Flavor (optional, but delicious)
1 teaspoon instant yeast
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons (7/8 ounce) olive oil
1 1/4 cups (10 ounces) cool water

*If you don't want to use semolina, use a total of 3 cups all-purpose flour, and reduce the water to 1 cup + 2 tablespoons.

Topping

4 large eggs
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded cheddar, Swiss, or Monterey Jack cheese
8 slices (8 ounces) bacon, or 8 ounces breakfast meat of your choice

To make the dough: Mix and knead together all of the dough ingredients—by hand, mixer or bread machine–till you've created a smooth, soft dough. Don't over-knead the dough; it should hold together, but can still look fairly rough on the surface. Allow the dough to rise, covered, for 45 minutes; then refrigerate it for 4 hours (or up to 36 hours); this step will develop the crust's flavor. Make sure you have the dough in a large covered bowl, or put it into a large, lightly greased plastic bag; leave plenty of room for expansion.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator, and allow it to rest and warm up a bit while you prepare the topping.

To prepare the topping: Whisk together the eggs and cheese. Cut the bacon into 1” squares; a pair of scissors works well here. If you’re using some other breakfast meat, cut it into bite-sized pieces. Stir the meat into the egg and cheese mixture. Refrigerate the topping while you prepare the crust.

To assemble and bake the pizzas: Divide the dough into four, six, or eight pieces, depending on how large you’d like your pizza to be.

Stretch and shape each piece of dough into a circle, patting it flat as best you can. The flatter the circle, the thinner the crust. Place the circles on two lightly greased (or parchment-lined) baking sheets, and allow them to rest, uncovered, while you preheat the oven to 450°F.

Bake the pizzas for 8 minutes. Remove them from the oven. Divide the topping evenly among them. Return to the oven, and bake for an additional 16 minutes on the oven’s upper rack, until the topping is nicely browned. Remove from the oven, and serve immediately. These are also good warm, or at room temperature. And yes, feel free to grab one and enjoy it in the car on the way to work!

Yield: 4 to 8 breakfast pizzas


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